As we previously reported, a “60 Minutes” hit piece on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has backfired on the long-running “news” program in epic fashion.
It first started with how the segment was deceptively edited to leave out a large chunk of DeSantis’s answer to correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi’s “pay to play” question regarding Publix’s campaign donations and them being awarded a big vaccine distribution partnership with the state.
But it didn’t end there. As RedState managing editor Jennifer Van Laar reminded people, Florida’s Division of Emergency Management Director Jared Moskowitz, who is a Democrat, had already completely undercut pay to play allegations against DeSantis last month in a tweet criticizing the Miami Herald’s one-sided reporting on the subject:
This idea why @Publix was picked has been utter nonsense. We reached out to all pharmacies and they were the only one who at the time could execute on the mission. The federal government delayed the federal pharmacy program and we yet again stepped up first to serve more seniors https://t.co/IJJgS9T2dn
— Jared MASKowitz 😷 (@JaredEMoskowitz) March 2, 2021
And he did so again Sunday:
@60Minutes I said this before and I’ll say it again. @Publix was recommended by @FLSERT and @HealthyFla as the other pharmacies were not ready to start. Period! Full Stop! No one from the Governors office suggested Publix. It’s just absolute malarkey. https://t.co/obkqYcbrzt
— Jared MASKowitz 😷 (@JaredEMoskowitz) April 4, 2021
As of this afternoon, yet another Democrat has weighed in on the media-driven controversy surrounding DeSantis and Publix, and it just so happens to be the mayor of the county “60 Minutes” tried to claim was not consulted by DeSantis before the vaccine partnership with Publix was created.
Democrat Dave Kerner, who is the Palm Beach County mayor, ripped the report to shreds, noting that DeSantis had specifically consulted with him and another county official about multiple vaccination distribution options and that they (county officials) “asked to expand the state’s partnership with Publix to Palm Beach County.” Kerner said they also discussed his county’s own plans for vaccination distribution, and that DeSantis was very supportive.
“[60 Minutes] had that information, and they left it out because it kneecaps their narrative,” Kerner stated.
Labeling the report “intentionally false,” Kerner also said that he offered to provide insight to “60 Minutes” for their report but that they weren’t interested. Read his full letter below:
Democratic mayor of Palm Beach County absolutely flames @60Minutes for their hit on DeSantis and Publix, calling their reporting “not just based on bad information – it was intentionally false.” pic.twitter.com/AfthuPj4MP
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) April 5, 2021
Mayor Kerner says that he offered to talk to 60 Minutes but CBS declined. He says Palm Beach County asked for the Publix relationship, and that CBS knew that but “left it out because it kneecaps their narrative.” And he says that the media is “hellbent on dividing us.”
— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) April 5, 2021
For Democrats to go on the record defending DeSantis at a time when the media and the national Democratic Party are continuing to relentlessly target him is a pretty big deal, and the claims from these Democrats just lend more credence to the allegations that these “reports” are nothing more than conveniently timed hit pieces aimed at derailing a potential DeSantis 2024 presidential bid. It also makes DeSantis’s potential Democratic gubernatorial challenger Nikki Fried, who has been an instigator/pot-stirrer of some of the more wild claims against DeSantis, look like even more of a fruit loop which, to be sure, is not that hard to do.
On that note, make sure to check out RedState senior editor Brandon Morse’s latest video in which he breaks down in more detail why the media are waging an all-out war against DeSantis:
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